Tyler Henry | |
---|---|
Born | Hanford, California, U.S. | January 13, 1996
Occupations | |
Years active | 2015–present |
Television |
|
Website | Official website |
Part of a series on the |
Paranormal |
---|
Tyler Henry Koelewyn [1] (born January 13, 1996 [2] [3] ) is an American reality show personality who appears in the reality show series Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry and Life After Death with Tyler Henry as a clairvoyant medium [4] since 2016. [5] He has published two books.
Critics state that Henry's readings are performed using deceptive cold reading and hot reading techniques, and not "psychic" powers.
Henry is a native of Hanford, California, a small rural city near Fresno. [6] He graduated from Hanford's Sierra Pacific High School and didn't complete college. [6] Henry is gay. [7]
According to Henry, he noticed that he had clairvoyant abilities when he was ten years old. [8]
In November 2015, Henry appeared on Keeping Up with the Kardashians where he gave a reading to one of the Kardashian sisters. [9]
In January 2016, Hollywood Medium With Tyler Henry premiered on E!. In March 2016, it was announced that E! had ordered a second season of the show. [10] Henry published a memoir titled Between Two Worlds: Lessons from the Other Side the same year. [11] [12] In 2022, he published a second book, Here & Hereafter: How Wisdom from the Departed Can Transform Your Life Now. [13] [14]
A 2018 People article detailed Henry's claims about his abilities, the development of his "powers", and his reading with La Toya Jackson set to air in the new season of Hollywood Medium, in which he claimed to contact Michael Jackson. [15]
Hollywood Medium ended after four seasons in 2019.
His series, Life After Death with Tyler Henry, premiered on March 11, 2022, on Netflix, [16] and was completed after one season of nine episodes. [17]
Henry has given readings to many celebrities, such as Nancy Grace, [18] Alan Thicke, [19] retired NBA player John Salley [20] and actors Monica Potter, Soleil Moon Frye, Amber Rose, [21] Jaleel White, [22] the Kardashians, Corey Feldman, Carmen Electra, Matt Lauer, Chad Michael Murray, Rick Fox, Megan Fox, Chrissy Metz, Kristin Cavallari, Bobby Brown, Roselyn Sanchez, The Try Guys, and Tom Arnold. [23]
On December 13, 2016, actor Alan Thicke died due to aortic dissection at the age of 69. [24] Several months before his death, Thicke was the subject of a reading done for the Hollywood Medium TV show. Among the many topics discussed by Henry, the concern of possible heart and blood pressure problems was addressed, with Henry suggesting that Thicke had a heart and blood pressure problem like "multiple men" in Thicke's family. [25] After Thicke died, this part of his reading was referenced by Henry's fans as evidence that Henry had actually predicted Thicke's death. [25] Various news outlets reported on this. [26] [27] [19] [28] Scientific skepticism activist Susan Gerbic challenged the claim that this was a successful psychic prediction, arguing that "Henry was again playing the odds" given that heart disease is the "number one cause of death for American males". [25]
Scientific skeptics argue that mediumship is a con and that Henry is not an exception. [29] [30] [31] Skeptical activists and others concerned with Henry's rise in popularity have actively attempted to counter the public perception that what Henry claims to do reflects reality. In particular, they have argued that Henry relies on a mix of cold reading techniques and prior knowledge of his subjects, or hot reading, to make his claims. [32] [33] [34] [35] Specific examples where it is alleged that he used these techniques include sessions with Ronda Rousey, [36] Carole Radziwill, [37] [38] Matt Lauer, [39] [40] and Nancy Grace. [18]
Critics have argued that Henry's actions are exploitative, [9] and he has been dismissed as one of many mediums who lack training in counseling, resulting in a "tremendous" risk of harm. [41] Henry reportedly welcomes skepticism about his work: "I am content with people asking questions", he stated in 2016. [6]
A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance; or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, such as psychokinesis or teleportation. Although many people believe in psychic abilities, the scientific consensus is that there is no proof of the existence of such powers, and describes the practice as pseudoscience.
Cold reading is a set of techniques used by mentalists, psychics, fortune-tellers, and mediums. Without prior knowledge, a practiced cold-reader can quickly obtain a great deal of information by analyzing the person's body language, age, clothing or fashion, hairstyle, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, level of education, manner of speech, place of origin, etc. during a line of questioning. Cold readings commonly employ high-probability guesses, quickly picking up on signals as to whether their guesses are in the right direction or not. The reader then emphasizes and reinforces any accurate connections while quickly moving on from missed guesses. Psychologists believe that this appears to work because of the Barnum effect and due to confirmation biases within people.
Hot reading is a technique used when giving a psychic reading in stage magic performances, or in other contexts. In hot reading, the reader uses information about the person receiving the reading which the receiver is not aware that the reader already knows. Hot reading is commonly used in conjunction with cold reading and can explain how a psychic reader can get a specific claimed "hit" of accurate information.
A debunker is a person or organization that exposes or discredits claims believed to be false, exaggerated, or pretentious. The term is often associated with skeptical investigation of controversial topics such as UFOs, claimed paranormal phenomena, cryptids, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine, religion, exploratory or fringe areas of scientific, or pseudoscientific research.
Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spirit channelling, including séance tables, trance, and ouija. The practice is associated with spiritualism and spiritism. A similar New Age practice is known as channeling.
Paula Maxine Patton is an American actress and producer. Patton made her feature film debut in the 2005 comedy Hitch, and has had starring roles in the films Déjà Vu (2006), Precious (2009), Jumping the Broom (2011), Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011), 2 Guns (2013), Warcraft (2016), and Sacrifice (2019).
Lisa Michelle Williams is British and claims to be psychic and a medium, she is also an author, known for her appearances on television in the UK and the U.S.
Kimberly Noel Kardashian is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex tape Kim Kardashian, Superstar, which she filmed in 2003 with her then-boyfriend Ray J, was released in 2007. Later that year, she and her family began to appear on the E! reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which aired until 2021. Its success led to the formation of three spin-off shows; Kourtney and Kim Take New York (2011–2012), Kourtney and Kim Take Miami (2009–2013) and Hulu's The Kardashians (2022–present).
Massimo Polidoro is an Italian psychologist, writer, journalist, television personality, and co-founder and executive director of the Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Pseudosciences (CICAP).
Hereafter is a 2010 American fantasy disaster film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay written by Peter Morgan. It tells three parallel stories about three people affected by death in similar ways—all three have issues of communicating with the dead; Matt Damon plays American factory worker George Lonegan, who is able to communicate with the dead and who has worked professionally as a clairvoyant, but no longer wants to communicate with the dead; Cécile de France plays French television journalist Marie Lelay, who survives a near-death experience during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; and British schoolboy Marcus, who loses the person closest to him. Bryce Dallas Howard, Lyndsey Marshal, Jay Mohr and Thierry Neuvic have supporting roles.
Chip Coffey is an American self-proclaimed psychic from Elmira, New York, currently living in Atlanta, Georgia. He appeared as a medium on various paranormal television programs, primarily Paranormal State and Psychic Kids. On Psychic Kids he acts as a mentor towards children who claim to have psychic abilities, primarily seeing ghosts. Coffey's claims of being able to communicate with the dead have been subject to criticism by skeptics. In 2019 it was announced that Coffey will be joining Travel Channel's Kindred Spirits as the third official cast member alongside Adam Berry and Amy Bruni for the fourth season in 2020.
Mark Edward was an American mentalist and author. He wrote books on mentalism and séance theory and production, including Psychic Blues (2009), where he discussed working for the Psychic Friends Network. Wilson made appearances on television as both primary consultant and on-air performer in programming such as ABC's The Con, A & E's Biography: "Houdini, the Great Escape", NBC's The Other Side, and Psychic Secrets Revealed, the Sci-Fi Channel's Mysteries, Magic and Miracles, Disney's Forces Beyond, as well as two episodes of the Learning Channel's Exploring the Unknown. His featured segment as a spirit medium on the pilot episode of Showtime's Penn & Teller's Bullshit! series, titled "Speaking with the Dead", helped secure an Emmy Award nomination for that episode in 2002. He coined the term "grief vampire" as a description of alleged psychic mediums who prey on vulnerable people. Edward was a fellow with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Suzane Northrop is an American writer, podcaster, TV show host, and psychic medium. She has written at least four books, and hosted the television show, The Afterlife with Suzane Northrop. She participated in The Afterlife Experiments which was turned into a book by Gary Schwartz. The experiments and their conclusions were widely criticized across the scientific community for not being blinded, and for the lack of inclusion of any other scientifically credible evidence.
Long Island Medium is an American reality television series starring Theresa Caputo, a self-professed medium who claims she can communicate with the dead. Much of the program, which premiered on September 25, 2011, takes place in Hicksville, New York, though it often follows Caputo as she meets with clients in other areas.
Susan Gerbic is an American studio photographer who became known as a scientific skepticism activist, mostly for exposing people claiming to be mediums. A columnist for Skeptical Inquirer, she is the co-founder of Monterey County Skeptics and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
CSICon or CSIConference is an annual skeptical conference typically held in the United States. CSICon is hosted by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), which is a program of the Center for Inquiry (CFI). CSI publishes the magazine Skeptical Inquirer.
The Haunting of Hill House is an American supernatural horror drama television miniseries created and directed by Mike Flanagan, produced by Amblin Television and Paramount Television for Netflix, and serves as the first entry in The Haunting anthology series. It is loosely based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson. The plot alternates between two timelines, following five adult siblings whose paranormal experiences at Hill House continue to haunt them in the present day, and flashbacks depicting events leading up to the eventful night in 1992 when the family fled from the mansion. The ensemble cast features Michiel Huisman, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, and Victoria Pedretti as the siblings in adulthood, with Carla Gugino and Henry Thomas as parents Olivia and Hugh Crain, and Timothy Hutton appearing as an older version of Hugh.
Thomas John Flanagan, known professionally as Thomas John, is an American psychic medium. He starred in the 2018 reality TV show, Seatbelt Psychic, and the CBS All Access series The Thomas John Experience beginning in June 2020. In January 2020, John began a live show at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, which was put on hiatus as of March 16, 2020.
Matthew L. Fraser, also known as Matt Fraser, is an American psychic medium, published author, and television personality. He is best known for his central role in the reality TV show Meet the Frasers. He has written four books including the We Never Die: Secrets of the Afterlife.
Seatbelt Psychic is a 2018 television series broadcast on the Lifetime TV network, starring psychic medium Thomas John who gives guests spiritual readings during a car ride.